Will the FAA also encourage drone pilots to wear silly hats as well? Because neither a hat nor a vest will actually cause drone operators to BEHAVE properly.....

(Written on 2017年 12月 04日)(Permalink)

A handgun is a deadly weapon, but a Boeing 737 can do a lot more damage in the hands of a deranged individual. If I trust the pilot to fly the airplane, I'm pretty sure I can trust him with a firearm.

(Written on 2017年 11月 15日)(Permalink)

I read the comment as "I've never taxied here at Omaha before". I GUARANTEE that somewhere in her training, she's taxied a 737 around. Quite understandable that the FO might figure that a SAC bomber pilot might have taxied around the Omaha airport. He's certainly been stationed at Offutt before...

(Written on 2014年 06月 07日)(Permalink)

Please note that there used to be 12 P-3 squadrons - on EACH COAST. 6 squadrons in Brunswick, 6 in Jax, 7 at Moffett and 5 at Barbers Point. PLUS two training squadrons AND several reserve squadrons. But Barbers Point, Moffett and Brunswick are all closed as are half the old squadrons. There are a total of 13 current active duty squadrons, plus one training squadron.

(Written on 2013年 12月 28日)(Permalink)

Yup. Typical endurance was about 11-12 hours, unless you're doing some kind of stunt. Like the one where they iced the fuel hoses in dry ice to get the fuel as condensed as possible, and then took off immediately. They flew from Atsugi Japan to Pax River, Maryland, non-stop. As I said, a stunt. But there were a number of missions of 13-14 hours, loitering at high altitude with one engine shut down. I worry that the P-8 has less onstation time, less endurance, and a shorter combat radius, but it wasn't my decision.

(Written on 2013年 12月 27日)(Permalink)

Speaking as a old P-3C TACCO, it takes some time to track the submarine from initial detection to localization to a weapons fix, and since we're not actually ATTACKING the submarines, trying to continue to track a moving submarine 1,000 miles off the coast for a few days or weeks at a time. It takes 3 aircraft continuously in the air (one on station, one in transit out, one in transit back) and a couple of additional birds in maintenance, so call it five aircraft full time to track one submarine. The Russians have MANY submarines, and the Chinese are building more. So are the Iranians. 117 P-8 airframes is about the ragged minimum to maintain even a cursory ASW coverage.

(Written on 2013年 12月 27日)(Permalink)

Alas, no; the P-8 Poseidon will not be in-flight-refuellable, and will have less on-station loiter time than the P-3s it is replacing. But since everybody knows props bad, jets good, switching to a 737 airframe will at least make it possible for P-8 pilots to move directly to the airlines after leaving the Navy. And to be honest, the P-3s in the fleet now are about worn out.

(Written on 2013年 12月 27日)(Permalink)